Television – Special applications – Microscope
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-20
2001-07-10
Kelley, Chris (Department: 2613)
Television
Special applications
Microscope
C382S144000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259473
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosures of the following priority applications are herein incorporated by reference:
Japanese Patent Application No. 10-097927 filed Apr. 9, 1998
Japanese Patent Application No. 10-139301 filed May 21, 1998
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a section image obtaining apparatus and a method of obtaining a section image, and in particular, it relates to a section image obtaining apparatus that employs an electronic camera for a microscope mounted at a microscope and a method adopted by the section image obtaining apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The objects of examination conducted using a microscope that is to be described in this specification are specimens including cultured cells, isolated cells and sections of tissue. These specimens are examined for study of the cell internal structure in the case of a single cell, the morphological state of a cell within tissue, the morphological state of tissue constituted of a plurality of cells and the like. Examination with the microscope is conducted using two-dimensional images. The plane of such images is perpendicular to the direction of the optical axis. Thus, information along the depthwise direction is not included in such images. Information along the depthwise direction may be obtained in the manner described below through incorporation of a television camera. Images are taken in intermittently as strata images by the television camera while moving the focal position, and these images are processed at a personal computer and converted to three-dimensional images. Then, using the converted data, a three-dimensional image is produced or an image that displays the structure of a given section is created.
However, this method, in which a plurality of strata images must be taken in and processed at a computer, requires a great deal of memory capacity and also poses a problem in that a long time is required for processing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a section image obtaining apparatus provided with an electronic camera which may be mounted at, for instance, a microscope, that makes it possible to obtain a section image of a subject or a specimen within a short period of time while requiring small memory capacity and a method of obtaining a section image.
In order to attain the above object, a section image obtaining apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an image-capturing device that captures an image of a subject; a section specifying device that specifies a position of a section at the subject, an image of which is to be obtained; a distance adjusting device that adjusts a distance between the subject and the image-capturing device; and an image processing device that rearranges the image obtained by the image-capturing device at the position specified by the section specifying device based upon the distance that has been adjusted by the distance adjusting device.
A section image obtaining apparatus connected to a microscope provided with an objective lens to observe a specimen, according to the present invention, comprises: an image-capturing device that captures an image of the specimen; a section specifying device that specifies a position of a section at the specimen, an image of which is to be obtained; a distance adjusting device that adjusts the distance between the specimen and the image-capturing device; and an image processing device that rearranges the image obtained by the image-capturing device at the position specified by the section specifying device based upon the distance that has been adjusted by the distance adjusting device.
In the section image obtaining apparatus, preferably, the image-capturing device is provided with an image-capturing element achieved by two-dimensionally arraying pixels and a section image is obtained by utilizing only pixels corresponding to the position of the section specified by the specifying device.
Also preferably, an image-capturing condition setting device that sets conditions for image-capturing implemented by the image-capturing device is further provided, and the image-capturing condition setting device does not change image-capturing conditions until the image processing device completes processing corresponding to the section specified by the section specifying device.
A section image obtaining control apparatus according to the present invention, comprises: an image input unit that inputs an image of a specimen captured by an image-capturing device connected to a microscope having an objective lens that is provided to observe the specimen; a distance input unit that inputs information on the distance between the specimen and the objective lens; a section specifying device that specifies a position of a section at the specimen, an image of which is to be obtained; and an image processing unit that rearranges an image input to the image input unit at the position specified by the section specifying unit, based upon the distance information input to the distance input unit.
Another section image obtaining apparatus that obtains a section image of a subject, according to the present invention, comprises: an image-capturing device that captures an image of the subject and generates image data corresponding to the subject whose image has been captured; a section specifying device that specifies a section at the subject; a distance adjusting device that adjusts a distance between the subject and the image-capturing device in order to focus on a given position at the subject when capturing an image of the subject at the image-capturing device; and a section image processing device that processes the image data generated by the image-capturing device. And: the image-capturing device captures an image of the subject for each distance resulting from an adjustment made by the distance adjusting device; and the section image processing device extracts image data at a portion intersecting the section specified by the section specifying device among the image data generated by the image-capturing device every time an image of the subject is captured by the image-capturing device, and obtains a section image of the subject by synthesizing the image data thus extracted.
In the section image obtaining apparatus, preferably, the section image processing device is provided with a memory for synthesis that is employed to synthesize a section image and synthesizes the section image by sequentially storing extracted image data in the memory for synthesis.
Also preferably, a microscope provided with an objective lens between the subject and the image-capturing device is further provided, and the distance adjusting device adjusts the distance between the subject and the objective lens. Further preferably: the microscope enlarges an image of the subject by a magnification power of M; the image-capturing device is provided with an image-capturing element constituted of a plurality of pixels that are two-dimensionally arrayed; the distance adjusting device adjusts a distance between the subject and the section image obtaining apparatus in units of distance equalling a length of (one side of a pixel/M); and the section image processing device extracts image data at pixels corresponding to the position at which the section specified by the section specifying device is intersected. Or: the microscope enlarges an image of the subject by a magnification power of M; the image-capturing device is provided with an image-capturing element constituted of a plurality of pixels that are two-dimensionally arrayed; the distance adjusting device adjusts a distance between the subject and the section image obtaining apparatus in units of distance J; and the section image processing device extracts image data at pixels corresponding to the position at which the section specified by the section specifying device is intersected, and performs enlargement processing at a magnification power of (J/(length of one side of pixel/M)) to synthesize the extracted im
Iko Chikaya
Toshimitsu Kunio
Kelley Chris
Nikon Corporation
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Wong Allen
LandOfFree
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